I have a sbc, a ford 9" rear and a pair of 1940 long rear wishbones. I will be using a transverse mounted leaf spring with no shocks to hold the rear on. Would it be enough to connect the underside of the axle to the wishbones alone? Or would they want to twist and end up bent? The rear will be exposed so I would like to get away with as little confusion back there as possible. Thanks.
there is a similar thread on this right now where somone wants to use a rear wishbone as a suspension piece. these tubes were used as braces in a push/pull force only, not a bending force like would be applied in your application. you should put some hairpins or ladder bars on that 9"
I think you are asking if you can use them as ladder bars -. If you look at a ladder bar set up there is a bracket the has a mounting point high on the axle and low on the axle. Then a bar from each point meets to mount at the same point on the frame. The high bar and the low bar oppose each other and prevent the axle from twisting. There is a way to mount an axle like you are describing that has single bar and an end that the axle rests in - the axle attaches in the saddle front and rear in line with the bar. It is a heavier member and is designed for the twist the axle will apply. I used some 40 ford split bones to make the lower bars of my 4 bar link suspension. You could use yours as the lower bars of a triangulated 4 link and eliminate the need for a pan hard bar
Heres what I'm talking about... only difference is, is that this one has a flathead and no doubt a torque tube over the driveshaft. I guess part of my question is, does the torque tube work as a support for the axle thus eliminating the need for other reinforcement?
The torque tube is the main control of suspension geometry; it is in effect a ladder bar that doesn't bind in turns. The cross spring supports and handles roll, deflection, and sway, the sway sometimes assisted by a panhard bar. The rear radius rods have no direct role in suspension geometry--they just brace the connection between tube and axle.
I'm about to do the same set up on my car basically. My wishbone will be connected in the same manner as the original except instead of boltng to the torque tube at the front, they will bolt to either side of a heim joint mounted just under the tranny crossmember. While a 4 link is preferred, I understand there is nothing wrong with doing it this way. I suppose a dozen people will tell me otherwise.
You could replace the torque tube with a torque arm on the 9", then use the wishbone braces as links. The links will need pivots at both the frame and axle ends. The torque arm attaches to the frame with a shackle to allow some forward and back movement as it travels the arc of the links. A panhard bar would be a good idea, but a transverse buggy spring should be adequate for lateral control.
well, think of it this way. if you wind the motor up and dump the clutch, all the force exerted by the tires will be transferred into a twisting action that will try to bend those 65 year old radius arms.
I was "planning" to do something similar on my '28-'29... '35-'40 banjo rear, buggy spring, maybe lever shocks...and split the bones so they attach to the side of the frame. It sounds like this will work if I... A) use Heim (Rose) joints at both ends of the bones, figured I'd use threaded ones to align the axle<?> and B) Build a Torque Arm similar to the one Relic posted. Does that sound about right?
hayduke, with the torque tube you don't need heim joints at both ends or a "torque arm" you already have a big long torque arm called a torque torque tube. your split wishbones will have to extend to the length of the torque tube so that they both swing in the same arc. (if your radius arms are shorter than your torque tube, the radius rods will try to bend the axle at every bump)
But--take that thought a step further. With the torque arm and the radius rods the same length, on any sort of movement other than a straight on two-wheel bump the radius rods still have to twist. The forces on them are greatly reduced by having the torque tube/torque arm take the forces of braking and acceleration, but they are still as geometrically wrong as ladder bars in most suspension movements. This design has all the elements to be done RIGHT--just move the radis rods in and affix them in a triangle to the torque arm, allowing completely unhindered suspension. With a properly set up buggy spring you might or might not need a panhard, but that's the most additional hardware you'd need. The '40's might need to be shortened a bit and to attach farther back on the torque arm like '46-48 rods to allow frame clearance on a lowered car--just like people did on lowered '40's with stock rears.
Dang, sorry I should have included that I plan to use an open drive diff, not a tube. Unless someone's figured out an easy way to adapt the tube to a T5 trans (my concession to modern stuff). I'd like to use stock '40-ish components up front, but figure out how to get a little drop, the '28-'29 frame has been boxed and the rear "Z'd" the height of the frame. I want to use the stock bones, split, connected to the frame, front and rear if possible, just looks right to me, if it'll work properly, I want it to be able to handle well, if possible. Thanks again
1935-36 Ford rear wishbones have a very heavy wall and the spring hanger is built right on to them, the 35-40 chassis dementions are ( with very small variation's) identicle, if you can find a pair of these wishbones you can weld two tabs to your rear axle and bolt on your wishbones and spring hanger in one step and have your axle in factory location. HOWEVER,.... you must have your suspension fully loaded before you set your pinion angle. also these are the long bones ,.. ideally you would want your forward pivot point on the same plain as your front U-joint,..... I found this picture on the internet, the 35-36 wishbones are the closest to you, there is a stock location on these to mount your dogbone for your early Ford shocks , or you can adapt something off the wishbone mount or axle for tube shocks,........... hope this helps This is My Son's first Hot Rod project,...
Yeah it helps... I must have truck parts though... the bones bolt to the lower two bolts of the backing plate, and the spring attaches to a piece that is held to the axle housing with two large u-bolts. That piece then looks like it "intercepts" the bone just ahead of the axle, preventing rotation... I've got pics at home, I'll try to post something at lunch.. Thanks
Here's a pic of the stock set-up of parts I'm working with... the torque tube is still out in the field someplace. The plan is to use these bits with a later hydraulic brake, open drive rearend, 2nd pic...
Hey, what do you have 2 rears? post the full picture of the one on the left, almost looks like early lincoln with mechanical backing plates, the one on the right appears to be pickup truck. Anyway the pictures harmsway sent you should help you out. The use of 37-48 Ford passenger car rear radius rods with out a torque tube should be avoided. They are much to weak and will bow under load. The 35/6 are much heavier and even they should not be used on a car that you are going to hammer on as they will also be subject to distortion.
On the back of my 29 A PU I brought a pair of 36 bones together, and welded them to the forged ball yoke cut off a '40 front wishbone. I then welded the cup part off a 34 crossmember to the back of my new crossmember, and bolted the lower cup on. Others have done this same type of setup using a Heim end or a lower ball joint in place of a stock Ford wishbone ball. I've probably got 2000 miles on this set up so far and it seems to be fine. But I am pretty easy on this car because I know that this rear wishbone is the weak link. My next car is going to have ladder bars so I can be a little more aggressive in my driving.
Yeah two rearends and early mech brake, buggy spring and a later juice brake, open drive, parallel srping, both came from old "trailers" down on the farm, likely the back half of old trucks. The plan was to update the buggy sprung with the juice and open drive, under the '28-'29 A using as many original parts as possible... CornFed... Is yours riding much lower than stock? I'm thinking these bones are pretty stout, you guys mention weak and stout bones from different years, is there a wall thickness difference? I could drill a small hole somewhere and check these... actually I have a third one I pulled out of a pile from the farm I could drill... Here's more pics,
I think your rearend with the funky clamp/bracket around the housing is a '37 or so. Are those cable brakes? I bet that clamp/bracket is some type of aftermarket overload preventer. Maybe that rear was on a pickup used on the farm, then got turned into a trailer. If you're wanting to use as many Ford parts as possible, just bolt a torque tube back on. Maybe you'll need to shorten to fit, but it will definitely have the proper geometry and strength. And '39-'48 juice brakes will bolt right onto that axle with no modifications. Use the KISS method (keep it simple, stupid).
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